with two members of the appropriations committee. nevada republican congressman mark amodei and north carolina congressman david price. "washington journal" is next. " is next. ♪ host: good morning. this is the "washington journal" for march 5. a2 hour program as the house comes in at 9:00. the senate will vote on an $8.3 billion emergency spending bill. the house passed the package yesterday. this comes as the cdc announced they will allow anyone to get tested if they have a doctor's approval. your thoughts on congress passing this spending bill and what you think it does for the federal response to coronavirus. 202-748-8000 for the eastern and

central time zones. 202-748-8001 for the mountain and pacific time zones. if you are a medical professional and want to give your thoughts, 202-748-8002. you can text us this morning at 202-748-8003. post on our twitter feed at @cspanwj and if you want to post on our facebook page, it is c-span.org --facebook.com/cspan. total package bill is $8.3 billion and here is how it breaks down. $3 billion set aside for r&d, vaccine therapeutics and diagnostics. forould put $2.2 billion the health response. $1 billion for pharmaceuticals, and capacityies, improvement. 435 million dollars to support

health systems overseas. $300 million to help humanitarian needs. it would also set aside $7 billion in low interest loans for affected small businesses. the senate is expected to vote on this package today. this comes as the new york times highlights work from the cdc when it comes to coronavirus response. under the new criteria for testing, patients who have fevers, coughs, and difficulty breathing qualify for diagnostic testing. with flu season in swing, tens of millions of americans have respiratory systems and doctors have no quick way to discern who should be tested. state laboratories estimated it would be weeks before millions tested.cans could be

it was the vice president yesterday at the white house during a regular briefing on the coronavirus response. he talked about the role of state and university labs and the role they play in conducting tests. [video clip] >> with regard to testing, we had a meeting today that gave us inat hope for great progress the near future on expanding testing across the country. we have a ways to go yet. i am pleased to report as we have been able to convey to state government's, governors around the country is thanks to -- alld work of the sta state laboratories, all university laboratories at the state level can conduct without anytests additional assets or reset -- resources from the federal government. they have the fda-approved test.

announcedt, as we through the efforts of hhs, 2500 .its are going out this week roughly 1.5 million. we will build on that number. host: more of that available at c-span.org. emergencyassed -- the spending passed 415-2. representative andy biggs voted against this. he is quoted on why saying in true washington, d.c. fashion, congressional appropriators turned the 2.5 billion dollar request into a bloated $8.3 billion package. congress fails to widely appropriate taxpayer dollars, throwing money at a serious issue that does not alleviate

concerns nor does politicizing the issue to score points. the other republican that voted this, sincesaying day 1, democrats have politicized the coronavirus. the initial request was thoughtful to address the coronavirus response. a spendingassed package with $8.3 billion with vague information about how the money would be spent. we will show you the breakdowns -- what do you think about the passage of this bill? jerry in connecticut, go ahead. caller: i was actually calling about senator schumer's threats

against the supreme court justices. host: let's start with the coronavirus response because that is what we are talking about this morning. what do you think about the passage of the bill? --ler: i think democratic every democratic member should vote to get rid of schumer. is it enough money? is it too much? congressman are right, you have to be aware of being politicized -- politicized. that has nothing to do with coronavirus, it is not great. , goodmark louisiana morning. i am talking about the

furtherlion they put coronavirus. host: how do you explain if it is not a response issue? caller: they just want to make sure -- a lot of what is going on, to be honest, they did not know how to handle this. a lot of the government did not how to handle it. ,hat was working, what wasn't --n president trump

host: are you against the dollar figure or the response overall? caller: the biggest concern i have is getting everybody afraid . i heard on c-span one of your washington journal hosts that worked for you, he was quoting said thewitter and he deadly coronavirus. you can say that. i don't hear you saying that about the flu. it is almost the same symptoms, it is just that we don't have a vaccine yet. int: that is zachary louisiana. the death toll from coronavirus in california, that rising to 11.

,est springfield massachusetts what do you think about the response from congress? i think congress should allocate the money and get out of the way. all we need the congress for is the money. why do you think congress is getting in the way? caller: i have heard them say the president called it a .oax, the coronavirus they lied about that. host: how does that apply to what congress is doing in your implication that congress is the problem? caller: paul congress has to do

is allocate the money. that is all they have to do. the: to the death toll and fatality rate, it was during a forum and exchange yesterday harris.gressman andy fatality rate.he [video clip] 3.4%.y think it is you have been quoted saying it is probably 1%. we don't know the denominator. said it. theou look at the cases math is about 2%. in flu look at certain risks -- risk groups, it will depend ofpletely on what the factor

symptomaticc -- a symptoms are. what we are hearing from a recent call this morning is there are not as many asymptomatic cases. even if it goes to 1% host: when --l we know caller: if we get enough data to d, it will be bad news. umbrella team who

-- one from china the cdc and the national .nstitutes of health he will be giving a report. i think we are going to get the information you need. host: in all these hearings taking place on coronavirus available at our website. the house passing the $8.3 billion package. we will continue to do so. the senate expected to vote on this today. some of the elements of the package, stephen in massachusetts, hello. morning i think the package bill is awesome. host: why is that?

caller: these people need this money to cure the coronavirus. james is next in washington. hello. caller: my point is the denial of science. there is not a vaccine. developtake a year to ratef you throw the death out -- it is really high young --y the -- among older people. it attaches to an adamant objects. the reason they are making a big point is this thing is going to spread like wildfire.

there is more people and more diseases and people get around a lot more and it is basic science . they are making it political. this is not political. the reason the scientific community is freaked out is they it poses andhreat analytically, it it makes more sense why people are freaking out about it. especially in animate objects and living so long, which means more people will get infected. the infection rate is 2.3, 2.4 people per person. that is why it is a problem. host: how do you think your state is handling it so far?

theer: especially with incubation rate, there is nothing you can do because there is so many people flying under the radar. all you can do is basically what they are saying is good hygiene, limiting social contacts, do not shake hands. obvious stuff. it bothers me this is thrown into the realm of political. this is not political. it is a real crisis and that is the science of it. if you just run the numbers -- but to make it political seems crazy to me. host: that is james in washington state, one of the states directly affected. we will go to nick in michigan. hello. caller: hello. how are you doing this morning?

-- it feel like the media is almost like political media fear mongering. since october, over 12,000 people died from the flu. the numbers are so much lower. i guess i don't understand the concept. in 2018, 2019, 60,000 people .ied from the regular flu what makes this more deadly? massachusetts, you are next, hello. caller: good morning, pedro. host: you are on. caller: i think the president is too much. this one of your last caller's talking about politics and the last guy said something about the flu and that has killed so many people.

everything is going to kill us. more and the funding they are approving, that should not be an argument. host: when you say the president is dismissing it, what do you mean? caller: first, he was growing the numbers and then he is like youven yesterday he said can go out and people have gone back to work even when they had symptoms or something and rallies.ig he backed's on everything. backpedals on everything. the briefingduring yesterday the vice president announced government testing guidelines were being loosened to emphasize the physician

judgment. expert said the previous guidelines from the cdc were far too restrictive in face of a virus that spread to 75 countries, sickened more than 75,000 people. 60 public health labs are now cdc test and in the next several days or weeks, testing capability or capacity will increase more labs. more of that in the washington post. if you go to the twitter feed of the connecticut congressman, jim himes, he has a picture of one of the other representatives in congress, matt gaetz of florida. not only did he highlight -- what he said was you will not believe the shoes matt gaetz is wearing. theas wearing a gas mask on

floor of the house not only in this picture, but several other pictures. that is some of the activity going on on the house side. that bill expected to be passed by the senate. michael in portland, oregon. there is another picture. michael, hello. and i: i am 71 years old was at the kaiser westside medical center. patientse coronavirus -- i was there approximately the same time they were. they have asked 70 or so of their employees to self quarantine. that worries me because i was in the building for 6 days during the time period perhaps when the other coronavirus people were

there. i am in the risk group. i was in that building often enough to probably come in contact with surfaces maybe those 70 employees touched. to me.ery real i am on a self-imposed self quarantine. i don't have dry cough or fever or anything like that i really would like to suggest caution because i have a feeling this is for real and it should not be confused with the flu. china does not shut down manufacturing capabilities for the flu. they took it serious from the beginning and so should americans. i think the nature of these things is it will get into the general population eventually and i think we have to start taking it very seriously.

i guess that will be my comments. host: karen next in florida. morning.ood i wanted to harken back to our fight with ebola. the obama administration $6 billion for the effort, which went very well. on this particular instance is the structure that had been set up to handle this pandemic had been dismantled by john bolton and president trump and so everything has to be reassembled again and what they probably need to do is bring back ron plane and the people that were so successful in the ebola effort because they know exactly what to do. florida.t is karen in

we have been talking about the package of the bill in the house yesterday, $8.3 billion. we have nine minutes for you to do that if you wish. 202-748-8000 if you live in the eastern and central time zones. 202-748-8001 in the mountain and pacific time zones. if you are a medical professional, 202-748-8002. the house coming in at 9:00 today, that is when our program will end. we have two members of congress joining us to talk about the response yesterday and the passage of the bill and where it goes from here. richard in massachusetts. good morning. hello. i agree with the guy from coronavirus.t this everything in this country, they make a scare tactic out of it

and the american people fall for it all the time, they run scared. if you are going to get it, you are going to get it. no matter what it is, whether it is the news, the weather, everything is dramatic. killer storm on the way or breaking news and you jump out of your seats. everything is going to be taken care of. they are going to do what they have to do. let's hope they put the money to good use. thank you very much for letting me speak and have a good day. host: michelle in fort lauderdale, florida. concerned.m really cannot seem to get any of the math -- masks because they are sold out from amazon. masks know of any available to buy anywhere?

host: what kind of prices are you seeing online. i know they are sold out. caller: i don't really care about the price. host: i am curious what they are charging for these kind of things. $20.r: i think they are not pricey. host: we have had medical professionals early on saying masks may not be effective in this situation, but you would rather have one anyway, that is what you are saying? n-89 is it called, mask? host: i think i have heard that. caller: not just one of those little cloth things doctors where -- wear. n-89 mask.al host: what concerns you most

about this coronavirus situation? caller: sars was bad enough. it is very toxic . and myre toxic than sars , sheter from tennessee tells me to get the mask and i am like, where do i get that? amazon is sold out. everybody is sold out. host: we have set aside a line for medical professionals. 202-748-8002 if you want to give input into this. on from illinois joins us that line. what type of medicine do you

practice? health i am a public nurse and i am semiretired right now. is they did not get the testing out sufficiently and there is an interesting clip on facebook from a new york emergency room physician talking level block ofd access to resources. we deal with influenzas annually. the policies if you check the cdc guidelines, the employer-based guidelines are not being implemented. someone just told me recently if they called in sick, they would lose their job. schools -- my grandchildren attend a school where they have

a policy that they don't have to attendancel exam if is at a certain level and while i understand that for funding purposes, that is not a good policy in conditions like what are going on right now. immunoand is an suppressed patient. mask.ve a certain type of he was hospitalized recently and the nurses were telling him he a mask with a special kind of filter, not just the ones people buy to keep dust from their mouth when they are

doing a project at home. spending of the overall, about $10 billion slated for the public health response. what do you about those figures? little my feeling is too too late. you cannot dismantle the national institutes of health research. you cannot dismantle the centers for disease control. budgetary lay, staff wise, you cannot dismiss science and expect to deal with a potential pandemic. if you look at the clips of shanghai and a totally empty city that should be hustling and bustling, it reflects the seriousness of this. illinois. is sue in

aside from what was going on and capitol hill when it comes to the passage of the bill, if you were to go across the street, the supreme court, a whole other set of action related to abortion. robert barnes sets off the case being heard saying the courts for liberals appeared convinced the louisiana law at issue requiring admitting privileges at nearby hospitals. identical from texas to the supreme court struck down 4 years ago. argued, the variation of the same question to all three lawyers addressing -- that could indicate he felt he could distinguish louisiana's law from the texas statute or agreed with the challengers laws were doomed

because of the present -- precedent. schumer, asked the caller implied talking about this, appearing before the supreme court was being defeated -- debated as advocates were in front of the court. chuck schumer saying i want to tell you, justice kavanaugh and gorsuch, youstice have released a whirlwind. you will not know what hit you if you go forward with these awful positions. schumer suggested there would be an electoral blowback adding we will tell president trump and you willpublicans that be gone in november and never be able to do what you are trying to do now ever again. you are gone in november. that garnered a response from the chief justice. a rare, direct response from

john roberts in a statement put out yesterday. the statement reading, justices know criticism comes with the territory. threatening statements of this sort from the highest level of government are not only inappropriate, they are dangerous. all members of the court will continue to do their job without fear or favor from whatever quarter. that is from john roberts. that response garnered another response from chuck schumer's spokesperson in a tweet put out yesterday saying -- women's health care rights are at stake, americans from every corner of the country are in anguish about what the court might do. the comments were a reference to the political price republicans will pay for putting the justices on a court. for justice roberts to follow the deliberate misinterpretation of what senator schumer said

while remaining quiet when the --sident attacked justices that all took place yesterday. two members of congress to address the issue of the house package passed yesterday and other issues as well. us first tojoins talk through these issues and later on, more comments and thoughts from representative david price, democrat from north carolina. a two hour "washington journal" today resumes right after this. ♪ pan --c-span came

campaign 2020 bus is asking candidates what the president should address. >> the issue most important to me is foreign policy. i think it is important for the candidates to focus on issues they constitutionally have control over. compared to other people in the government, it is one area they have direct control over. >> the issues most important to me for this election cycle, there are three of them. i am looking for the candidate stands on the second amendment, immigration, and abortion. >> most important issue for me is health care. many of my family and friends have struggled to make ends meet with medical bills and medical debt. being able to get medicare for all would be really beneficial to everyone i know. that is the main issue i have

for this election. >> my biggest issue is climate change and how we can address it while also addressing economic disparities and rebuild our economy to be more sustainable. andative american rights their stance on preserving those rights. from arizona, so i would like the candidates to dive a little deeper into what their stances are in regard to native americans. onvoices from the road c-span. >> "washington journal" continues. host: our first guest of the morning, mark amodei. good morning to you. i am sure you have thoughts on the coronavirus bill passed yesterday. guest: that is a big

supplemental. plenty of money for now. one of those things where the situation can be fluid. plenty to fill up those magazines to deal with what we potentially have coming and if we don't need it, we will not use it. thought youre a will go through this $8 billion and another supplemental will be needed? guest: not right now. i think we are erring on the side of here is plenty of resources, do your job. saying theare initial white house request of $2.1 billion would be enough. what do you think about the initial request? guest: it is one of those things where appropriating money even in an emergency supplemental context can be time-consuming in a context where you are looking at potential pandemic, it is like nothing can be fast enough. i think this was erring on the

side of there is plenty of resources available for the time being and you do not have to come back by asked, go accomplish your mission. host: we see $7 billion for low interest loans and $300 million for humanitarian needs. why do they fit into the package? guest: you are trying to deal with it in terms of a holistic approach, not just do you have it, don't you have it? there are economic impacts as the folks north of here demonstrated already. it is one of those things where andtry to be a bit holistic afterwards we will see if there is other stuff. host: there were conditions going into this argument saying things like the new funding -- it had to be new funding and the vaccine could be affordable. you heard maybe that was a sticking point. what do you hear about that being placed on the bill?

guest: the problem with the outfit i hang out with is very often, we attempt to go you never want to waste a good emergency and we need to focus on the emergency. the testing is covered under medicare and medicaid, so we are thinking about that. it is like, let's try to keep it as focused as possible. callers sayinghe the testing came late and may be the initial offices were dismantled. are those legitimate concerns leading into this? perfection is the standard. if a meteor hit the earth, it would be the administration's minds.n some people's we are already in testing with vaccines. the president canceled flights from china a long time ago. you have folks keeping a close

eye on what is going on with screening in italy and south korea before they get here. i think under the circumstances, it has been a pretty good response and don't forget as far as bush 43, there has been a pandemic plan in this country updated a couple years ago. we did not start at zero. we thought about this before with previous scares. i think the history of the track record when you look at all that stuff is quite frankly the home team demonstrated an ability to deal successfully with it. host: our guest with us until 8:00, you can ask him questions on the line. .epublicans, 202-748-8001 independents, 202-748-8002. if you want to text us, 202-748-8003. as far as your state specifically, how is it dealing with this? guest: we have spoken with our

state health department people. we have spoken with the primary care association, the federally qualified health centers, so we know what the protocol is for getting kids out, getting them to the state lab which is authorized to do testing and send it onto the cdc. we are coming online and waiting to see. when you start testing more people, i assume you will get more and more hits, not that that is a huge thing, but we are in the phase where it is like we think we have the preliminary stuff done, let's see what comes and react to that. includes reno. not in your district is las vegas. introduce an element because of the people? guest: you have 50 plus million people that show up at las vegas every year as tourists.

most of them through the airport. inte frankly, the folks clark county and the chamber of commerce and the folks that run properties on the strip downtown are good at reacting to things like this. i am not worried about the health threat. nonetheless, everybody will use best practices and go forward. host: have you seen differences in reno? attendance -- in reno's attendance or drops in that? guest: i am flying home this morning, i will let you know if there are empty seats on the plane? host: joanne, you are on with our guest. go ahead. caller: good morning, mark. don't forget to stop at frontier liquor on your way through and jerry's for breakfast. guest: yes, ma'am. host: i was part of the team with james smack.

i hope you remember. is he still around? he had a great slogan, congress needs a good smack. caller: that was after they took the votes off the floor in 28 -- 2008. it is good to see you get up there. the laste you after time you are on. something i was mad about. i might rehire you again. host: do you have a question or comment? caller: i do, i will hurry up. our medication, my high blood pressure medication was cut with a carcinogen. you never heard about that, you heard about zantac. it is still being made in china. i am having a real problem feeling comfortable with taking .his stuff

i think it either should be tested more or -- i took that medication for years. i am really concerned about that. are we going to bring our meds home? guest: that is one of the areas the surgeon general and the folks at cdc are looking at. you have hit on a topic that is not unusual. our medication is from china. if you call the reno office and give them your information, we will be happy to check and see your particular medication, what the protocols are for it based on its source. host: bob, hello. caller: i am interested in how much testing they are doing of people coming in. i have a brother-in-law and sister-in-law coming in from italy and i wonder if all the people are being tested.

they said they plan to get off drive back home. i wonder if they are going to test people. guest: they will go through a testing protocol before they leave italy based on the briefings we had yesterday from the cdc and the vice president and when they get here, they will be subject to special testing and they may or may not be quarantined if they are not sure. they will be testing and because they are coming from italy, there will be testing in italy before they get on the plane and when they get here if their destination is new york. did you learn anything new about the response yesterday? guest: they had 6 folks from pharma companies talking about where they were in the process and gave us the background. a lot of the resource has been

sped up by the president waving -- waiving fda requirements, but developing medicines for veterinary use as well as previous flu outbreaks. they were away down the road -- always down the road. that gets you partway through in terms of we have foundational work which allowed them to speed them up. when you talk about vaccines, really good laboratory results, the animal tests are proceeding at pace. you have to test it on humans because that is a different proposition. host: are research labs in nevada part of this? guest: most of the folks doing research are basically east

coast centered. johnson & johnson, juilliard -- juilliard, places like that. the pharma industry and the cost of medications and stuff like that, which is not going to go away, i have news, there is no place else in the world you could react like this because of the research and development. the challenge with the policy is make sure you are doing the right thing and pricing, but we do not want to change the equation where this is the place where we are on the cutting edge of health care research as far as things like vaccines. host: are you concerned about the amount of pharmaceuticals we depend on from china and other places that produce pharmaceuticals? guest: i am not because when we talk to these pharma folks, they have the ability to ramp up fast. in the instance of you need to produce blood pressure

medication here instead of there, they are nimble enough to work like okay, we can produce that here as long as it takes. when we get this behind us, when we talk about posture going forward, it is like, that applies to a lot of areas, not just pharma. if you want to be self-sufficient or not have to rely upon bad things happening around the world and other places where we have things like medications, it is like, you might want to think about that as a long-term policy thing instead of waiting for the next time the fire alarm goes off. host: brett in nevada, you are on with our guest. guest: how are things in searchlight? caller: it is getting warmer. guest: good for you. caller: i am just wondering -- i him -- i have a concern. i am a vietnam veteran. do you know if the v.a. is going to set up test for veterans?

guest: the v.a. is a full participant in terms of the kits coming out. that is a box with 500 to 700 tests. the test itself is a slog. if you get a hold of your clinic in the neighborhood or folks at the o'callaghan facility, they should be able to help you out if you want to test and get you set up for that. virginia,e in republican line, good morning. what type ofler: oversight is going to be done to make sure all this money is appropriated to what it is supposed to be going to? as a taxpayer, i have no problem with knowing my taxpayer money is going toward something like this, but i want to know this is not going to turn into someone's slush fund like what happened with infrastructure where states

are given money and it does not go to what it is supposed to go to. aret a big pot where states going to put in petitions for money as they need it? is the priority going to be low income areas or rural areas where people do not have access to doctors as easily as people in the city? what is the thought process on how this money is going to be regulated? guest: you bring up a good point and the reason it is not a new point is we learned lessons with and is did with ebola eco-. the majority of the money will be funneled through cdc in atlanta and the nih. a lot of it will be going towards getting kits out. the initial priority will be going to areas with a problem. washington state, some problems in california and other parts of the country.

that is where the kits will go. a bunch of it will go to the federal government and partnering with pharma folks to get it secure in terms of evacuations and binoculars and's -- vaccinations and inoculations. being part of the process, there to say this is what it is for. we did not ship the money out, it is an account they can draw on, which means you have to -- it is a purchase order set up. here is how much i want and here is what i want it for. lost congress's job, that already called oversight, it is -- your job to make sure go back after the fact and say how much money did you send to washington state and what was it this stuckd has within the four corners of what

the purpose was? good point. i think we are smarter than we were five years ago. i can tell you we are going to do that. about every 60, 90 days we will go how much did you spend, where did it go? and what did you use it for? host: what is the turnaround for this response or getting it back? guest: those folks making the testing stuff and getting labs certified is quite frankly pell-mell. getre going right now, those resources to the field on and trials and&d making sure the fda folks are on it. over a million kits went out. a week after that, you will have exponential growth. in terms of being able to say how are things going and having

tasks in the field, how are things going with the spread or not, that is critical. that is millions in the next 10 days. first and foremost to where you think you have a problem, but nobody is excluded. host: did the vice president or his team talk about when we will know? so much is unknown right now. guest: everything is pretty good. these are my numbers, but the fact that it is a virus and it is in the family of viruses that it is, i would say it is not a mystery what it is when they have their footprint, the people much better in organic chemistry than me. they know what the target is right now, they have identified it. they used past research and other virus-related things, other veterinary applications.

laboratory test results are like, we think we have some stuff that knocks it out in terms of in the lab. that is why you have the trials process. host: member of the reno,riations committee, carson city -- this next call from reno. jay on the line. caller: good morning. guest: good morning. caller: i am going to ask you two questions and i would respectfully like you to answer them correctly, but not to cuddle up to trump. trump was on hannity last night making comments totally against what the cdc has been saying coronavirus, the percentages of possible deaths, and the amount of people and he is also praising that because

people are not leaving on the planes to go to their countries because of the coronavirus, they andable to stay here products and buy put money into the environment because of the coronavirus and that is a good thing. how do you feel about donald trump talking totally against what cdc represented as an scientist have been saying and trump says democrats are making and playing this as a political ploy against him? i would like a real answer, but not an answer that would cuddle up to trump so you do not get in trouble. thank you and have a good morning. guest: first of all, i did not see the interview, so i do not have a point of reference. i was in briefings with cdc people we have been discussing on this interview so far.

all i can tell you is i believe it when the cdc people tell me where they are at and what they are doing. i believe it when i talked to ialth officials in nevada don't know that i cuddled up to anybody. i have not cuddled in a long time, maybe ever. clearly you disagree with whatever the president said last night, as is your right. host: one of the statements made by the president was about the world health organization's global death rate assessment. "i think 3.4% is a really false number." from: you will see -- talking to the folks at the cdc, the death rate will be higher than for the regular flu, .01%, which is a lot of people that lost their lives to the regular

flu. i think the number they said was -- i want to say around 2%, which is high for that. if 2% is true and -- i am not heng to get into what words picked because he does not call me and ask how to say thank sprayed i am waiting for that call. host: is it fair to make comparisons about what we don't know? guest: you have to compare -- prepare for the worst and use best practices, but you cannot ignore the infrastructure, the lifestyle. -- youot a good story want to judge what is going on in america. you should, but judge it in the

context of our infrastructure and health care facilities. i would rather be us than them. host: margaret in kansas, and leavenworth. caller: good morning. i worked as a registered nurse in the city of chicago during the swine flu virus first epidemic where we inoculated people. i have been appalled at the reaction. first of all, what about our military. they are in south korea, all over. leavenworth, we are a military community. ur military being tested? who owns these cruise ship's? keeps doingte idiot this. there is another cruise ship loaded with patients sitting there. we do not have access to good health care.

there is hardly any family practice. people are not covered. if you privatize this, labs are fly-by-night. appropriations. --se people making kits refill the coffers that were decimated, put the money back in andcdc and nih and research science. significantst: increases in cdc funding last year and the appropriations bill ended at nih. you never want to say mission accomplished in anything in washington, d.c., but having said that, there has been a recognition. you just did north of $8 billion in a supplemental. resources are important and there is a good argument you can

say we basically responded with resources even before that. i will tell you this. i am not familiar with how things go in illinois, but in my state, it is the state labs doing testing. we don't have a private lab or labs in nevada that will be doing initial testing for pipelining to cdc. when you say we don't have good health care. i guess we should talk about what you think is good and what is not. perfection is the standard. you never want to say mission accomplished, but good compared to what is going on on a cruise ship or in china would be an interesting conversation based on what is going on in the midwest or my part of the country. the last thing i will tell you is the military is being taken care of. there is special dispensation for law enforcement as well.

the two folks that went over finally were allowed into china was the world to see what going on. one from nih and one from cdc have come back and they are quarantined and being tested. the airline people can tell you travel international is different than it was 14 days ago. if there is a crews ship parked off california, that doesn't sound like great planning, but it should be parked until he gets cleared. host: is there a point the president should declare a state of emergency? guest: maybe that is something you look at, but right now, even though it is not good news. 11 deaths and the positive tests, which are three figures now, it is not right now. that doesn't mean you cross your fingers. quite frankly, it sounds to me like after the briefings i have been in and the homework we have done in nevada, people are on red alert in terms of

prevention, best practices, and keeping an eye out. host: becky in georgia, independent line, hi. caller: hello. my concern is i am hearing people can walk around for up to two walk around for up to two weeks and not have any symptoms, like when people get off an airplane, the way they are checking them is to check their temperature. i would like his comment on that. guest: the screening we are aware of is basically a swab in the mouth, in the nose, that sort of thing to be tested for all that stuff, which is a traditional way to do it. i would submit to you wherever the screening is taking place needs to be tuned up. the final point i want to make -- when they look at who is most at risk, some of it is geographic, and some of it is

demographic. 60,s people older than especially older than 80 who have other issues that make them more susceptible to this. circumstances,u young people seem to be resilient, where even if it turns out they haven't, they respond -- have it, they respond very well to traditional treatment. generalization is may be ok for a step or two, but what we have matriculated two, we are looking at age cohorts, where you are coming from, making sure when we screen you it is meaningful, and that sort of thing. starting from relatively soon -- all flights from china were banned over a month ago, if i recall correctly. evolutionary process and reactive based on

experiences from the past, but right now it is like there are resources, the health community is on alert, the nonhealth community is fully on alert and asking questions. i like where we are at and i hope for the best. host: mark amodei serves on the appropriations committee. thank you for your time. we will hear from another appropriator next, david price of north carolina who serves on that committee and the budget committee. that conversation coming up on "washington journal." ♪ guest: it is ok. [laughter] ♪

"q&a," peggyht on wallace kennedy, daughter of former four-term alabama governor and presidential candidate george wallace talks controversialer's career and what expect -- inspired her to write her book. >> we took our youngest son to the martin luther king museum historical site in atlanta, and we went to his church, is grave, -- his grave, and over to the museum. it was being newly constructed at that time. we were going to the exhibit. we came to the alabama exhibit. at 16th streetmb baptist church, fire hoses and dogs in birmingham, and george

wallace standing in the schoolhouse door, and bern looked up at me and he said -- did popopsad -- "why do those things to other people," and it broke my heart. i said he never told me why he did those things to other people, but we know he was wrong, so maybe it would be up to you and me to help things -- make things right. night it in ay car in eastern on c-span's "q&a." price, as is david democrat from north carolina, a member of the appropriations and budget committee. for the bill passed yesterday for coronavirus, how did you

come up with a figure of $8 million? guest: i don't think anyone started -- eight billion dollars. guest: i don't think anyone started with that number. it was a piecemeal of efforts -- what does it take to get the test kits, a series of vaccines and antidotes, what does it take to help department plugged in and ready to deal with whatever happens -- what does it take to do some work overseas to deal with this and help other countries deal with it? i don't think there is anything magic about that number. in fact, i think everybody expects it to change, but i believe it is a reasonable reflection of what we know now and what we need to do now. host: when you say you expect it to change, do you think the senate will increase the number? guest: everyone knows how uncertain this is -- how far it will go, how serious it is going to be, how dislocating it is

going to be. let's just hope for the best case scenario, but in case the virus is more widespread and persistentsence -- and involves more community, -- more communities, yes, the number could go up. reported in a case north carolina. what our state officials telling you about what to expect? guest: there is no way to predict and anyone that tells you they are certain about this -- it just is not certain. the experts tell us there are a range of outcomes here that are very difficult to protect. in north carolina, the case is in raleigh, in my congressional district, and it involves a person who had been in washington state. there are plausible connections to explain the case. of course we are hoping that it is isolated, but just like

communities across the country, i think our communities suffered from the false start with the talks -- test kits. the time we had for preparation has not been fully utilized. i hope and believe we are on track now, and that we will have fairly rapidly now, and ability to test it will then need to be doted, isolate people, and the things that need to be done. host: when you say the administration is on track, or at least congress is on track, did you get that from what the vice president briefed you on yesterday? guest: yes. i would say that. vice presidentpenc -- vice president pence was in a packed house briefing, and he was very sober, and deferred to the experts, as should have been done all along, and it was reassuring that, yes, we have a

coherent response in the making here, and that we can deal with this. we will deal with it. of course we can. but it is a time for -- it is not a time for false reassurance. it is a time for the kind of reassurance that comes with a feeling that you understand the range of possible outcomes and that you're prepared to confront them. host: there are reports today about exchanges you had with the head -- a member of the president's task force, ben carson -- the headline says when it comes to mr. carson, that the administration is not sugarcoating the message. can you explain that exchange? ben carson -- his

background, of course, is in medicine. he is a renowned surgeon. what i sent to him -- i am the chairman of the transportation and housing appropriations subcommittee, and this is the time of year we hear -- see the president's budget and hear from the secretaries. last week, elaine chao, and yesterday ben carson, but i did had the hearing on coronavirus and i said i imagine his medical background had as much or more to do with that appointment than his present position, which is true, and i asked him what his role would be and for reassurance about a fact-based approach. you understand why i asked that question and why it is important to get those assurances. he was reassuring about that, and he said they would respect the scientific evidence and tried to handle this

responsibly. i appreciated his report -- his approach to that. it is what i would have hoped for and i think we got a good response. host: we have calls lined up. the first is from asheville, north carolina. tom, you're on with representative david price. you are on. caller: thank you very much. i just wanted to comment. i heard president trump talking the other day about the coronavirus, and he was mentioning antivirals and research into that, and even intion the word "cure" which was surprised to hear. not many people are aware of the fact that it was donald trump's uncle that was put in charge of the famous inventor nikola tesla's papers when he passed away, and it was nikola tesla for oatented a machine

zone use. guest: you are into a territory i am not familiar with. caller: they use goes on to purify drinking water. it kills viruses. host: what would you like our guest to address? caller: the release of these technologies that would actually cure the virus. instead of playing the games, they can have these people treated with those on and be cured. host: tom in asheville. guest: he lives in a nice place. that is where i grew up. i am now in raleigh, dearly, chapel hill -- durham, chapel hill. host: what are the medical communities -- are they involved in the testing process or the response? guest: indeed. this is just beginning. the involvement is widening

every day. i think the caller's question -- i have no idea what the properties of autozone might be. -- o zone may be. i cannot comment on that. i can say we don't have either a vaccine or an effective antidote right now. so, part of what is going on, and what this money will finance on an accelerated basis, of , and thes vaccine testing of antivirals and things that might treat the symptoms are do we are not talking about something that wipes the disease out -- the symptoms. we're not talking about something that wipes the disease out. we do not need unrealistic projections, like we have heard some people give about vaccine development. we need to know realistically what we can work towards. we can certainly work towards it. host: democrats south carolina.

caller: i have a question that might be a concern to the representative today. florida is not too far. a lot of people travel on the east coast there on the south, and i wonder how many ships have come in or out with anyone in his location where his stated that have arrived or departing on these ships. does he have any indicators or concerns? to questiond something the previous guest mentioned about veterinarians testing on the coronavirus as well. i do not know what that is about. do you have any idea? guest: i cannot testify in terms of cruise ships in north carolina, or if that is a good indicator of people that must be tested. depends heavily

on whether there have been cases reported with that population. i do not know the answer to that question. as far as -- there are theories, as you well know, of animal human -- two human transition. whether that means that the veterinary community is involved developingor theories about possible transmission, i don't know. agenda ishe research thatk in progress, and will depend on how -- as it works -- one discovery leading to another, but i have not heard first to have said there is a widespread research amongst veterinarians. includes $13l

million for therapeutics and diagnostics. guest: that is the focus, the development of a vaccine, anecdotes, treatments, therapies, that can help us deal with the cases we know we will have. host: any sense of what we will start to see the result of that research? guest: no. that is why i said we do not need overly rosy predictions like the president gave at one development,accine but just the way this has gone in the past, when patients come in now, there are treatments. they are not totally effective treatments. as that is refined, i don't think there is one point in which i say we arrived. host: $300 million for humanitarian needs? is that inside the united states or of? -- or out? guest: there is some

humanitarian money both inside and out. that really is a stab in the dark, what that should be, but there is some money for humanitarian work overseas, and also some work to help public health authorities overseas. that is protecting us as well as them. then there is someone in that can be used in hardship cases here. you know, this is very preliminary. a lot of this is going to demonstrate -- it already is demonstrating how important it is to have good health coverage, for example. what are people going to do who have no insurance whatsoever? there is a lot of talk about making sure -- vice president pentz stressed -- mike pence to his credit, making sure medicare, medicaid, the diagnostics, whatever treatment people need a covered with those public insurance programs.

yes, indeed we do. in north carolina, there is going to be every reason, i'm afraid, if this breaks out, that our general assembly years ago had taken advantage of the opportunity to expand medicaid. 500,000 people in the state of north carolina without coverage because the general assembly did not want to -- they have this thing about president obama and the affordable care act so they would not expand medicaid. what about family and medical leave? we just have achieved -- this is a great achievement -- we have paid medical leave for federal employees. what if workplaces shut down, what if they have to miss long periods of work? we will wish they had broader coverage of leave from work. so, whenever a medical emergency like this comes along, it invariably -- the questions you have to raise invariably have to do not just with that disease or

the pandemic, but with shape we are in generally with respect to health care and with respect to economic circumstances when they are hit with health care challenges. host: from new york. rego park. democrats line. hello. caller: i just called because i don't hear anyone talking about point, andhe tipping what i mean -- the way it seems to be going, it is almost exponential. what happens when the hospitals in?no longer get you they do not have a bed or the respirator, which is very important, and probably the only thing that will help somebody get over it. now, i am 71, and anybody over 70 has the highest mortality,

and then it gets higher in the 80's and the 90's. if i get sick, and everyone is sick, and i cannot get in the hospital, my kids are going to take care of me, and then they are going to get sick. everybody in the family is going to be exposed, and there is nothing really they can do without the respirator. is anybody working on medical care for a large number of people with respirators? that is my question. guest: yes, absolutely. the bill that we approve yesterday has hundreds of millions of dollars for the expedited development and delivery of respirators and other medical equipment, and there is money for the development of surge capacity, which is what happens when your medical facilities are overridden. that is a challenge. you talk about the exponential development. of course, one objective --

probably the main objective of public health policy is to below contagion, to get that exponential level, but you are right, of course. it can go that way. and the capacity issue is not just how you deal with the coronavirus victims, but what about all the other people that are displaced from health-care facilities who have other ailments and other needs for treatment? it is a real problem. there is financing in this bill for the development, right now, of surge capacity, and certainly for the development of equipment , and the distribution of equipment, including ventilators. host: denise is on our independent line. she is from raleigh, north carolina. caller: good morning. guest: good morning. caller: so wonderful to speak with you, representative price, who used to be my

representative. i moved into a different area. when i was living in your area, i did vote for you. i am now an independent for many reasons, which i will not go into, but my question for you is this -- i know a lot of the pharmaceutical companies here in america were having our drugs made in china. now, the research that is being for now, and the kits testing, are we still having those made in china because it seems like a lot of these , and ourout of china medications that were contaminated that we pulled off the market had been diagnosed with cancer because i was taking one of those contaminated, carcinogenic medications. i would like to know your point of view on that, and how we can

start making our medications here in america. thank you so much guest:. those are important questions, and i think there are two questions involved here. one is the quality control issue. menacing -- the market -- medicine, the market of medicine is worldwide and you are right, a lot of medicines are manufactured in china, india, and other parts of the world, and there have been regrettable cases of substitution, dilution, the substitution of one material of another, so the issue quality control is an important issue quite apart from the coronavirus. then, with respect to this present potential pandemic, yes, we are much more independent than we want to be or should be on ingredients that come from china for the antidotes and the

potential antidotes that we are developing. so, the challenge of this appropriations bill that we passed yesterday is not only to accelerate the development of a vaccine and of treatments and antidotes, but also to develop domestic sources for the ingredients of those things. it is really complicated, but very, very critical. i will type, this challenge goes beyond coronavirus, but coronavirus brings it into sharper view. host: republican line. linda. guest: i would like to know -- caller: i would like to know what -- where these test kits are coming from and what state they are being manufactured in, and not coming from china. i cannot believe medications are made in china and the congressman speaking right now,

just make it clear to the woman you called in before that guys make a lot of money, republican and democrat congressman on the -- having everything made in china. don't let them pull the wall over you. thank you. goodbye. i am not sure how to respond. i have never made a dime, of course, from anything that is manufactured in china, so i am not quite sure what that means. let me try to respond. country,dence of our and of the medical supplies of our country, the dependence on china in particular and other countries that are the sources of sometimes an uncertain supply, sometimes a supply of uncertain quality -- those are issues that have been explored andongressional hearings,

if we are not aware, we should be aware of the dangers of that kind of dependence. that does not mean we can be an island unto ourselves in terms , but ital development is an international market, and we need to pay attention to what their -- what the really critical medicines are in a crunch, or an emergency. supply them from diverse sources, including domestic sources, and would not be dependent on china or anyone else. as far as the test kits are concerned, i would say the same thing applies, in the money we are appropriating -- and the money we are appropriating is aimed at the rapid manufacture and deployment of test kits and having a domestic supply. guest: from mississippi -- host: from mississippi. garth. independent line. caller: good morning. guest: good morning. caller: i would like to know --

last night on the state news said everyone who had mild symptoms could go to work and they would eventually get over it. people with no health insurance or health care, they are going to go to work -- i mean they go to work with the flu, and if they do not know they have this, they will go to work and spread it to god knows who. my other point is the death rate. , andonfirmed cases are 158 deaths are 11. it sounds like the death rate is a lot higher. i would like for you to comment on that. i appreciate you taking my call. thank you. and good morning, america. guest: the death rate issue is very difficult to calculate accurately, and i think we need to acknowledge that.

this is a fraction, and what is the denominator? because we have so little information about total exposure , or total cases of infection -- there may be very mild cases that there probably are a lot of people who do not even know they have it because there can be very mild cases. you do not know a fraction of what. whether it is 2%, or some smaller number, we just don't know. it is, of course, important to know, and as we get more information and as we get better diagnostic procedures and a more accurate sense of what the relevant universe is here, we will have a better estimate. this issue of going to work -- i would advise that we should listen to expert advice, and i don't put president trump in that category. fortunately, there are experts in government, and i do think

vice president pence is doing a good job in heading this task force, so i hope there will be cooler heads prevailing within thernment circles, and communication with the public is more consistent and more sensible. you know, we look to -- we want to contain flu and other ailments. people should not be going to work when they are sick in any case, and that is just a matter consideration for your fellow workers and good sense. this, of course, brings it into sharp relief, like a lot of other things. you don't want people coming to work may have coronavirus. is parthould be -- that of the idea, of course, of widespread testing, that people can behave responsibly once they know they are infected or not, but that doesn't mean that

people stay home form -- from work just out of excessive caution, but good information is critical, i think, to knowing what to recommend, and in particular instances, what a given workplace should do. there need to be -- there is going to need to be, i think, some serious thought to economic hardship and economic can't -- compensation. that is why one could wish that medical leave is much more widespread, but it is not, so that is going to be an issue. what is going to happen to people who do the responsible thing in a given situation and don't go to work and possibly expose their coworkers? i don't think there is any basis for saying nationwide people should not be going to work. nobody is saying that, or i hope they are not. host: your state, one of the

super tuesday states -- what did you think about the results for joe biden and what is it say about the campaign going forward? -- did veryiden had well in north carolina. demand had been a three-way tie a couple of weeks ago with joe biden, bloomberg, and joe biden broke out of that pretty nicely. of course, -- and sanders, and joe biden broke out of that pretty nicely. no, no is not the only state. i drew a couple of conclusions -- and north carolina was not the only state. i do a couple of conclusions from this. people waited on this. early voting was down and people did not know how they should vote.r wanted to it was a late-breaking decision for a lot of people. .hat is why joe did so well the south carolina factor with a latebreaking development.

hisother thing i observed people were voting very strategically. people, when they talked to me about it, it was not just home do i prefer. it was also who can win, can strengthen the ticket, who can help us keep the house of representatives and win the senate. constraint in the tina fey -- who can strengthen the team effort? i think a lot of people asking the question, the answer was joe biden. host: do you support joe biden? guest: yes, i do. i endorsed -- i listen to everybody. this process when on a long time, probably too long, and i did, about a week or so before the primary, i endorsed the joe biden. writer deuced him at a great rally saturday morning before the election. host: is there a debate on philosophy going on with the vice president being a contender

in bernie sanders been a contender at this point? guest: yes, there is. i don't know that the debate is always at sharply focused as it might be. every contender on the stage is a progressive -- proven progressive. every contender, and let's just talk about joe and bernie. joe biden is going to pursue universal health care, get us back in the paris accord, and pursue serious addressing of climate change. we are going to put housing on the front burner and make affordable housing a central issue, just as in all of our cities and is fast becoming, and on and on -- it is fast becoming, and on and on. the term moderate, i think, is misleading. there are differences, and bernie sanders's style is more bombastic and more big ideas,

sometimes with not a great deal of clarity about how you get there, but we are talking here about -- the real differences in this country are between the parties, and certainly, with the current president and what he has done too, i would say, compromise our diplomatic overseas interest, as well as take us back here at home. i feel like a lot of democrats feel, and i think a lot of americans feel, we have to make a change, so the question is what is the principle choice, the strategic choice, and comeully those two together. you pick someone who is ready to be president, bring on a first rate team, as great ideas and the ability to implement them, and someone who has broad appeal and can unify the country. qualifies oniden both scores. that man could campaign in every

congressional district in this country. host: and if it is senator sanders at the end of the day, if -- is that someone you can support? guest: i will support our nominee, but on both the printable grounds, the qualifications and -- principal grounds, and the qualifications on who -- how do you win the election, i think joe biden is the choice. host: thank you for your time this morning. guest: thank you. for: the discussion of 2020 the remaining half hour of the program -- democrats only. we want to hear your thoughts about the candidates in the running. whether it is your support of bernie sanders, give us a call -- we will take those calls next. ♪

booktv,weekend on mayoral leadership, reflections from a watergate lawyer, and the effect of a two-party political system on democracy. saturday night at 11:00 p.m. eastern, in the nation city, former chicago mayor and obama administration chief of staff rahm emanuel on innovation at the local level in cities across the country. sunday, in her latest book "the watergate girl" joe talks about career.alks about her and at 9:00 p.m., new america senior fellow lee -- argues in his book that the two-party system is damaging america's democracy. he is interviewed by george washington university professor and author matthew -- >> will be the cheek -- the

chief -- what would be the chief advantages? >> the issues of consensus on a political issues. the challenge is we need to have some system by which we can rules are some set of fair and some set of procedures are fair, and we can abide by those outcomes. >> watch rahm emanuel, jill wind banks, and afterwards this " and be sureooktv to tune in next week for our two -day coverage of the festival of books. "washington journal" continues. at this stage, democrats only, if you want to give us your thoughts on who you are looking at and who you would like to see as a presidential nominee. it is --

was senator sanders speaking to reporters yesterday in burlington, vermont, about the state of the campaign, particularly after super tuesday. [video clip] senator sanders: as we come into the last several months of this campaign, what i hope very much is that what we can focus on is campaign thatted deals with the concerns of the american people. as some of you that may recall, the last debate that took place really was insulting to the american people -- it was a food fight. it was about who could yell the loudest. that is not what the american people want. they want a serious debate. joe biden is someone i have

known for many years. i like joe. i think he is in a decent human being. joe and i have a very different voting record, a different vision for the future of this country, and joe and i are running very different campaigns. my hope is that in the coming months we will be able to debate and discuss the very significant differences that we have. one of the pieces of analysis coming out of super tuesday in "the new york times" this morning, in no state the people younger than 30 account for more than 20% of the electorate based on exit polls, and in most they counted for 15% or less. because so few people voted commented that matter that mr. sanders

"new yorkt is in the times" this morning. omar, new york. a supporter of senator sanders. you start us off. go ahead. caller: thank you for taking my call. i think the electability argument is specious for biden, because he has not been tested. i am sure it has been mentioned a number of times -- i have not been listening all morning, but he backed the bankruptcy bill that hurt all of the people that gave him their support in south carolina and other places. furthermore, sanders has the latino vote, which is approximately the same size as the black vote in the democratic party if you cross reference the percentage of people that lean democratic in that community versus the black community. i think the electability

argument is hollow in the sense -- is backed by a group that is equally large as the group that allegedly is the reason why biden is going to win the nomination. it just does not add up if you really examine the situation. michigan. a supporter of joe biden. caller: thank you. the reason i thought it was important for me to call today -- i look at bernie sanders and listen to what bernie sanders has to say, and if you look behind him, you have a lot of youth children behind him. joe biden already has experience. he is going to change what we have now, which is an unprofessional government, and as bernie sanders is going on around the world and promoting

what he is for, he still has 1960's values, and what we need is someone that has current values listening to the current problems of the world today and bernie is not doing that. vice presidentr was in los angeles yesterday speaking with reporters about the state of the campaign. here he is. [video clip] biden: look, we will bring together all americans and we showed that last night, regardless of your race, gender, whether you have a disability, republican, democrats -- every stripe. i really mean that. this is what we have to do to win, this is that we have to do to unify the nation. that is why i entered the race in the first place, to unify this country. we welcome all of those who want to join us and to build a movement. this is a movement we are building. we need that movement to beat donald trump and to build a future we all know is possible. you know, i am especially proud

our campaign is -- generating enthusiasm. this idea that we did not have a movement -- look at the results. look at who is showing up. we are bringing out -- this campaign, the people behind me, are bringing out people that have not participated, and it is way up. it proves to me that a positive, progression -- progressive vision that we have been providing for the nation is resonating all over the country. hear from janet in brooklyn, new york, who is not sure at this stage. caller: no, i am not sure because i have not heard either candidate talk specifically an in-depth about health care. we just had the president state that he is going to raise the poverty level for people to get benefits. that might knock out all people getting health care. right now we hear the president talk about a deep state when you have the supreme court's wife

giving him names to pick for his cabinet, and that other organizations giving him names to put on the supreme court. host: we heard joe biden talk about making changes to the affordable care act. we have heard senator sanders talk about medicare for all, but you say they are not talking about health care enough? caller: no, because they are not talking about how it is going to get paid for. they are not really talking about -- when people have to pay that penalty, that penalty was to help ensure health care. if you are willing to pay for no-fault car insurance, why wouldn't you be willing to pay for boosting of health care? coronavirus,he what is going on right now, doing -- due to the housing situation, you have generations living in a household. for a young child to come in, get the corona virus, they could kill their -- coronavirus, they

could kill their grandparents. host: let's hear from a supporter of bernie sanders. caller: good morning. i'm a 69-year-old african american and i do support bernie sanders because he is addressing is of the problems that going on with the people, and if we can pay for a tax cut everything republicans get in power for the 1% or the millionaires, we can pay for medicare or a lot of the other things that we need. bernie said he is going to the medicare for all in a four-phase -- the first year, go down to 55, and then down to 45. we can do that. regards -- in regard to the coronavirus -- host: he would have to work with congress to make that happen. what makes you think congress

will work with him? caller: because the senate and the congress are working with trump to do whatever he wants to do, and they will work with bernie if the people want this and they know the people need this. with college, with health care -- the coronavirus is a good example. if we did have health care for all, everybody could go and get tested, and they don't have to worry about these surprise billings when you go in for a test. i am for bernie, and i am going to be voting for bernie in michigan. host: ok. let's go to freddie in california. a supporter of joe biden. caller: i support joe biden because he has the experience under obama, and he is a pretty decent guy. he can bring us together. this country is so divided behind trump. he is just making everything

bad. i support joe biden. democrat, what makes you think he can bring people together, republicans and democrats? caller: because he is an honest man. trump just lies. you cannot trust him. biden is an honest man. he has been under obama. he has the experience, and he has the knowledge. another supporter of joe biden registering her support, a democrat from florida, according to cnn's politics unit, in a tweet, says she has cast her support for joe biden for president. if you look at the opinion page of the new york times this next time,aybe ladies" it is called, and here's what she writes about the current field, or simply when it comes to the elizabeth warren campaign, she is done. it is impossible to know the --ree in which gender

americans are forever seeking the indefinable spark, a secret blend -- more of that available -- the lead editorial piece on the opinion page of "the new york times" this morning. on our line for others. scott. potomac, maryland. good morning. caller: good morning. i am calling to express my enthusiastic support for

elizabeth warren. she has the proven experience starting the consumer protection bureau, from a working-class background, and is the perfect middle between moderate joe biden with questionable records and democratic-socialist bernie sanders, who we are not sure he will be able to get done his agenda. host: as far as the performance out of super tuesday, what you think about her chances at this point? caller: i think it is dispiriting to see so many people, especially in her home state of massachusetts, not vote to the top of the ticket, but because it is such a -- because i'm not quite sure between joe biden and bernie sanders, i really want to vote my conscience, and i believe elizabeth warren can do the best for the country. get: if senator warren does out of the race and does offer her support to one of the two men running now, what you think about that? i expect that -- she is

between a rock and a hard place. if she were to throw her support progressivesden, would eat her alive, and if she were to throw her support behind sanders, the eventual nominee, i suspect, i suspect there would be political repercussions. she is between a rock and a hard place and i trust whatever elizabeth warren decides to do. host: from delaware. a supporter of bernie sanders. this is michael. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. i fully support bernie sanders. i did in 2016 and i do again. i am a little disappointed about the way things have turned on super tuesday, but i am urging all democrats, regardless of who vote andnomination, to glue the way down the ticket. -- blue all the way down the ticket. this will be more key than anything else did i would prefer bernie at the head of the

ticket, but if bernie happens to fall short and biden is the nominee, we need to get every democrat on the ticket on the ballot into every state into office and the republicans and trump out. life support bernie sanders and not the former senator from delaware? caller: because joe biden, unfortunately, has a spotty track record. he is in the pocket of special interests, and i just do not trust him. i more support the ideals and the politics and policies of bernie sanders. host: the campaign experienced another moment yesterday with the exiting of michael bloomberg from the race. he made comments in new york following the decision. [video clip] mayor bloomberg: i always believe in defeating donald trump starts with uniting behind the candidate with the best shot to do that, and after

yesterday's vote it is clear that candidate is my friend and a great american, joe biden. [laughter] i have known joe for a very long time. honestly, decency, his commitment to the issues that are important to our safety, including gun health care, climate change, in good jobs, and i had a chance to work with joe on those issues over the years, especially when he was vice president. he fought for working people's whole life, and i am glad to say hopeorse joe biden, and i you'll join me in helping to make in the next president of the united states of america. host: this is judith from st. louis -- bernie sanders with elizabeth warren as his vice president -- announce this immediately. this is sean from the bronx -- i am torn between warren and

biden. sanders is too far left and to divisive. texting is available at to all for -- two of 2, 748, 8003. this is a supporter of joe biden. jo. go ahead. caller: yes, i am supporting biden. my first pick would be warned, but the way things are going, i just want trump out of office, because i see what he is doing in the white house. i see the people he is surrounded with, the trouble they get into, and i see it all as a mob leader running his ring and i wanted to be over with. host: what is it about joe biden specifically that you support? caller: well, he has a lot of knowledge, experience, a lot of people seem to trust him and like him. as far as all politicians being clean, i am not sure that any of them are. i just think joe biden will be able to bring the country together and unite people.

i personally believe that the technology,- like technology moves forward and i think the country should keep moving forward and not go backwards, and with trump we're going backwards. host: leslie in carbondale, pennsylvania, a potential voter who is not sure. leslie. hi. that person hung up. stephen, michigan. biden supporter. caller: how are you doing? host: fine, thank you. caller: thank you for c-span. this is the best channel on tv. as far as i am concerned, i think that joe biden is the best bet. i mean, he is not outrageous, and he is not crazy, and he is not a kook, like what we have in the white house. we need to get rid of that guy is soon as we possibly can. host: what is it about mr. biden specifically you can support? he is a normal person,

not some scatterbrained kook who thinks he is a king. we need to get rid of that nonsense. nobody works for nothing. i am thinking, what, is he going to hand out honorary diplomas from his university? he is just a kook. we need to get rid of him. debt oet's go to all , a supporter of bernie sanders in florida. i'm a big supporter of bernie sanders. i love his ideas, his issues. regarding joe biden, what is his agenda? let me just say one thing to the seniors out there -- joe biden, i heard from my sister, wants to eliminate cola, the cost-of-living increase for seniors.

you want to go for that? timing, really. i would like a sanders and warren ticket. that would be great i love her, to. odettehat is all debt -- in florida. it was the night of super tuesday the -- when joe biden was on stage a protest to rush the stage and some on capitol hill calling for sick research and -- secret service measures. continues tos advance, americans need to know the major candidates for president are protected from all threats to their safety. the acting -- the acting homeland security secretary writing

george from brooklyn, new york, the supporter of joe biden. go ahead. caller: good morning. i am calling in support of joe biden because he reminds me of a real elder statesman. he has the center keel that keeps him right in the middle of a storm. the way he bounced back in south carolina showed this nation that that is one gentleman we can depend on. bernie sanders, going back to 2016, never apologized to hillary clinton. that kept her from garnering enough funds to

campaign real heart -- real hard. from the onset when he realized he could not beat hillary, he kept on staying in the race to hillary, and to show that point, he never apologized to hillary. he had the support of young people. hillary clinton had the support of the minority vote. and hillary would have been a better president, we know. host: that is george in new york. we will go to another super tuesday state. this is from dolores, colorado, a supporter of bernie sanders. chuck. the house is just about to come in, so go ahead with your comment. you, pedro.k bernie sanders is in fb our democrat and everyone fears him because he is a trust buster.

he wants to go in and bust of the monopolies like fdr and his cousin teddy did. we subsidize the fossil fuel industry by $3 billion every year. subsidies are for new businesses, not well-established businesses. the fossil fuel industry is fueled by $300 trillion worldwide. economicg about deprivation is generated by the current economic system that we are embracing. it totally ignores climate collapse, and it is all about perception management with these people. it is like 54% of americans have pre-existing conditions. 40% of americans live in poverty. suicide rates are going up. digital automation is taking away jobs. these people want to -- trump has laid off over 20,000 people,

federal workers that worked at social security, medicare, the v.a.. host: that is chuck in california. judy, dimon pork -- diamond point, new york. a supporter of bernie sanders. i support bernie sanders at i like his policies on health care, environmental protection, and the economic policies he supports. i don't think this country has free and fair elections, just -- the dnc and corporate democrats stole the campaign from bernie sanders. withry clinton colluded funding in the corporate democrats are doing the same thing this time around to bernie sanders, and it is ashley the party selecting the candidate not the people. host: one more call. mario, north carolina. the house is just about to come in. go ahead now. good morning. ok. to show youtexts

saying if you want to beat trump, look at what states biden sanders has won. biden is not a safe vote because of the lack of grassroots support in the swing states that matter. that is gordon from california. that text finishing off the program today. another edition of "washington journal" comes your way tomorrow morning. a short show today only two hours, because the house of representatives coming . the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the chair lays before the house a communication from the speaker. the clerk: the speaker's rooms, washington, d.c. march 5, 2020. i hereby appoint the honorable andy kim to act as speaker pro tempore on this day. signed, nancy pelosi, speaker of the house of representatives.